Opening of Proposals - Utility Billing System - North Star Utilities Solutions - Part 1

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pvail► a 151s 1r%1% NorthStar. Customer Information System NorthStar CIS is an easy to use, accurate, feature rich solution, designed with modern Service Oriented Architecture. Our Utility Billing/CIS system provides a single solution for tracking all interactions with customers, including consumption history, billing history, adjustments, credit history, meter inventory, premise and meter history, service order history and more. Utilizing NorthStar's powerful Automation Platform, many of the day to day business processes can be automated, providing users with more time during the day than ever before, allowing them to focus on other tasks. The rich graphical user interface has been designed to optimize workflow and information accessibility. Automation Platform The NorthStar Automation Platform, is a highly configurable and flexible tool that can be used to automate business processes and to integrate with other systems and maintain data integrity. Its' pluggable component -based design provides a framework for the automation of complex business 'rules' and to streamline a Utility's business operations through efficient and optimized workflows. Notifications and approval requests are provided to specified recipients based on triggers identified through database updates or process completion. The Platform is also used to schedule processes and to run and save reports and listings for auditing purposes. Customer Management Each customer in NorthStar is assigned a unique identifier that follows them throughout their relationship with the utility. Associated information - including phone numbers, SSN, driver's license - are automatically moved with them if they change location. Additional information such as ACH banking information, emergency contacts, employment details, secondary or seasonal addresses, and family members can be entered and linked to that same customer number for transfer to anew premise. When a customer calls to initiate service, NorthStar provides the ability to quickly scan existing customer records and link that customer with their already established customer identifier. It also indicates if there are Collection issues with that customer's previous accounts so CSRs can respond appropriately. NorthStar is fully compliant with Red Flag requirements, encrypting critical customer information at the database level. As an additional measure, field level security can be defined by user id or by user group to limit access to customer data. Account Management Customer identification numbers are associated with particular service locations to create accounts in NorthStar. There is no limitation to the number of accounts for which one customer can be responsible, and changes to the customer information can be cascaded to all associated accounts with the click of a button. If a user wants to update only one of those accounts, this can be accomplished quickly and easily without impacting the rest. For example, a restaurant chain might have a central mailing address with local telephone numbers. The mailing address can be changed on all accounts by updating the customer record, and each account can be updated with a local phone number while preserving the central phone number on the customer record. NorthStar also provides the ability to view the total balance owing on all accounts at a glance as well as take payments based on the customer number rather than multiple account numbers, significantly reducing time and effort for cashiers and customers. Finally, NorthStar provides functionality that quickly retrieves information for all accounts associated with a single customer number. This information can be scanned onscreen or exported as needed. Premise/Location Management NorthStar Proposal Response —South Bend Indiana